Trey and Aurora have hit the road with Catalyst for the Until Sanity Tour. For Trey, adjusting to life as a vampire while getting on stage in front of screaming fans every night proves difficult. The limelight forces him to do things he swore he wouldn't, like feeding from the occasional fan. Keeping his secret from the band is harder than Trey expected, and the dull ache of hunger is always with him. Aurora tries to help Trey adjust while attempting to further her career from the road. She continues to paint, determined not to lose herself in the media maelstrom that comes with being married to Trey Decker.

But strange vampires are popping up at concerts, and the newlyweds realize they may be in over their heads. They owe a powerful vampire a favor, and he’s come to collect. But the price is too high, and Trey’s band mates are at risk of becoming collateral damage. Will Trey and Aurora be able to thwart the forces working against them and ensure that everyone they love is still around to share in their success in the end?

I hadn't been on stage for all of five minutes when I felt the little buzz of power vibrating in the back of my skull. I was careful not to let it throw me off my game as I casually searched the crowd for the source. My first thought was that my vampire stalker was back, but she hadn’t generated a power buzz like this one. Aurora was backstage tonight – not like I’d mistake her power signature for anyone else’s – but it was clear that at least one vampire was standing in the crowd. When the song we were playing ended, I took my guitar off and walked back to the stand Chase and his drums were perched on. I grabbed a bottle of water and took a big drink, just to give myself some time to think. O’Shea started telling the crowd a story – leave it to him to fill in the silence – and I turned back around to scan for potential vamps again while he spoke. It took a moment, but I spotted him. He was sitting in the third row from the front, off to the left. He was even wearing a black suit, kind of like the ones the Emissary wear, but I couldn’t tell whether it had their emblem embroidered on the breast pocket or not. I met his gaze and held it, letting him know that I’d found him. He stared right at me in that way that vamps do when you just know they’re trying to read your soul, one wispy layer at a time.

He wasn’t just here for the show. That much was obvious. If he was Emissary, what on earth was he doing at a Catalyst concert? Certainly the Emissary had more important things to do than check up on Aurora and I, like tracking down Malena, for one. And if he wasn’t Emissary, well, that was even more confusing. I wished Aurora were sitting there in the front row. At least that way I would know she was trying to decipher the same questions I was. At least that way I would know she was safe. Instead, she was enjoying the show on a screen from the backstage lounge tonight, while simultaneously snapping pictures of several paintings to upload to her website so she could ship them back to The Waking Moon.

Then I realized there were two of them.

The second one was dressed like the first and was sitting in the lowest section off the floor to my left. He met my gaze as well, and I had to force myself to look away so the camera wouldn’t catch my stare-down on the big screens. O’Shea’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I heard him asking the crowd if it was okay if we slowed things down for a minute. The cheering that resulted was my cue to at least try and forget about the vamp in the crowd.

Like that was going to happen.

I set my water bottle down by my mic stand and leaned into the mic. “Let me see those cell phones in the air,” I said as the guys starting playing the intro to “Sweet Disguise.” I strapped my guitar back on and waved one hand back and forth to direct the crowd until the verse began. As I sang, I scanned the crowd again for the mystery vamps but they were both gone. I tried not to worry about it, not to wonder where they had gone and why they’d left in such a hurry, but it was easier said than done. I couldn’t for the life of me imagine why they were here. Even if I’d wanted to warn Aurora, I wasn’t capable of sifting through all the thought trails in the building to find hers. I’d tried on several occasions, but I could never quite manage to hone in on her specifically through all the energized, almost frantic thoughts, coming my way – more than half of which were about me.

The rest of the set seemed especially long after that, which made me feel like crap. The crowd was really into us, and I did my best not to be distracted. I’m even pretty sure it worked, but I was more than relieved when we finished the last song before the encore. I made my way to the dressing room at last. Aurora was sitting at her laptop, and jumped up when we all came into the room.

“I’m ready, I swear,” she said, hurrying over to the makeup chair as Chase plopped down in it for his zombie makeover.

I changed into my tattered suit, suddenly feeling more than a little ridiculous about the paranoia that had rattled my brain throughout the show.

Aurora was here. She was fine. In fact, everything seemed fine.

I started to wonder if I’d seen the vampires in the crowd at all. It didn’t make sense, anyway. Why would a vampire make an appearance in the crowd just to completely vanish moments later? Maybe I really had imagined the whole thing. Maybe I was in worse shape than I realized. I made a mental note to down some blood from the stash first thing after we finished here. I couldn’t help but scan the crowd again for the vamps when I took the stage as a zombie for the encore. No buzzing power, and no Emissary-looking mystery vamps. I was mostly relieved, and I focused on giving the fans the best zombie performance I knew how to give. Aurora was waiting for me in the lounge and we headed for the bus together. It wasn’t until we were about to climb the bus’s steps that we both felt it at the same time.

A power signature.

Aurora froze, her foot hovering just above the bottom step. She looked over her shoulder at me and said, “We have a visitor.”

Title: Blood And Guitars Book # or Vol # 1

Pages: 358 pages

ISBN-10: 1463511884 and ISBN-13: 978-1463511883

ASIN: B00529IDZS

When Aurora meets Trey, a famous singer and musician, she’s only hoping to get her fill of human blood for the week. The last thing Aurora expects is for Trey to make her feel alive for the first time since she was, well, alive. It begins with a casual painting lesson at her art studio, The Waking Moon, and quickly turns into a forbidden romance. Aurora is forced to hide her true identity from Trey, while keeping her relationship with the human a secret from other vampires in her Brood.

Trey’s band is recording a new album and with Aurora as his muse, Trey is writing songs like never before. After being hired by their record label to paint the cover of the new album, Aurora has a legitimate reason for spending so much time with Trey and his band mates. Aurora can’t deny the unexpected connection she has with Trey, which is fueled by glimpses into his emotions every time they share a kiss. Caught between two worlds, Aurora must attend celebrity award shows and vampire rituals, find time to feed, and protect Trey from the dangers of the night, all while preserving her secrets.

Catalyst frontman Trey is no stranger to chaos, but even the life of a rock star couldn't prepare him for the consequences of loving a vampire. Trey's life is in danger; threatened by the very group he must join to stay alive. His struggle to continue his career and release a new album with the band is marred by events that force him to ask a powerful Synod Elder for help.

Aurora has to keep Trey alive until she can make him a vampire, but her own kind will stop at nothing to prevent it. The head of the Emissary is having her followed, and if she can't figure out who is behind the violent attacks, Trey might not make it to the full moon. As Aurora battles her own kind, she's also plagued by the risk she's taking by changing Trey. Will her moon-given power be enough to carry Trey through the change, or will he be left floating in the wake of destruction?

I write fantasy for teens and adults. I've been creating stories for as long as I can remember. I'm also an avid reader, and I blame Amelia Atwater-Rhodes and her book "In The Forests Of The Night" for my vampire obsession. I absolutely love vampires and anything paranormal, but I enjoy fantasy of all kinds.

I'm addicted to Oreos and Raspberry Dr. Pepper from Swig. When I'm not writing I enjoy traveling, playing board and card games, killing zombies on the Xbox with my hubby, and spending time with friends and family.

Music has always been a passion of mine. I've been playing drums since I was 12. I also love playing guitar, singing, and going to concerts.

My favorite color is green, and the uglier the shade the better. I get bored of my hairstyle easily which has resulted in me having many looks in the last ten years.

I live in Southern Utah with my husband and son. I'm currently preparing for the release of the third installment in the Blood And Guitar series, Fangs And Fame, which will be out August 25, 2014.

1 comment:

Hey everyone! I just wanted to stop in and say thank you for being a part of the Fangs And Fame release blast! Thanks so much for helping make this day an incredible one. I love the site, and I hope you'll have me back sometime! Thanks again!